Survivor Debuts, But What’s the Reaction?

After my column in the Thursday paper about the new survivor, which will be divided up by race, the e-mails were all over the place.

CBS

OK, so Billy Garcia is a heavy metal guitarist. Is that a stereotype?

But what I especially liked is how thoughtful almost all of them were. There were some very serious discussions of the difference between “race” and “ethnicity,” personal experiences from living in different cultures, and the way the issue is perceived in this country.

There was also a lot of talk about how cynical we should be about the motives of Mark Burnett, the creator of “Survivor.” Segregating the tribes is obviously a gimmick, but was there any thought to the idea that it might be a interesting discussion, or was it simply a play to improve ratings.

Lisa Navarette, a vice president with the National Council of La Raza, said her original question was “Are they clueless or soulless, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it is a little bit of both.”

But I have to say there were others who thought it could be a valuable way to open a dialogue. Again, I was very impressed with the thoughtful responses and clear thinking. Will be interesting to see the reaction after tonight’s show.

Oh, and by the way, the latest word is that there is some kind of a controversy in the second episode. Apparently, one of the tribes begins to question whether or not it is reinforcing the very stereotypes they hate to hear.